Yes, my avatar is female. I found that other female avatars were more likely to ignore me. And many of the male ones seemed to lose interest once they realized that I wasn’t trying to pick them up.

I think doing more research on specific places to hang out would also greatly improve future recruitment. It’s a fine line between finding someone who is new enough that they aren’t too jaded but experienced enough that they’ve had a chance to use the different tools.

Also you should try recruiting in places like the shelter… usually people get there from the main newbie areas so they are a few hours, days, months old but are at a point where they are looking to meet others and not just figure out how to change their clothes

While in one of the shelters I witnessed something very interesting. A Linden popped in escorting a new user. The new user was quickly introduced and the Linden popped away. We all said hello and chatted with the new person for a bit.

Specifically the shelter at Hamnida [I think that is right] is the location I was in when the Linden popped in. I hang out at the shelters a lot because everyone is very friendly and they chat openly there.

Also, I started taking as many free classes as I could right away and there are a lot of “Newbie SL FAQ” types of classes where you may meet folks who are new and willing to spend some time talking to you.

Oh and of course offering them some L$’s [if that is allowed] would be a fantastic incentive to get feedback. Or free clothes. For girls you could offer them free hair… that seems to be the one thing that the freebie stuff is lacking in.

Hope this helps and is not too much information.